A pantomime villain. A real-life Dick Dastardly. A driver who would willingly choose the number 13 with full knowledge of its connotations within Western culture. GP2 champion, F1 race-winner, banned (temporarily) from Monaco for disabling a marshal, subject of a popular F1-related website, butt of jokes, aleatoric artist of carbon-fibre. Pastor Maldonado.
Whilst I (and I assume 99% of this board) would presumably agree that Kevin Magnussen is a better prospect for rebranded Renault than Maldonado, I would also argue that the grid will become less colourful, less exciting, less of a spectacle with his enforced retirement. If F1 is a show, a show needs its villain. An Andrea de Cesaris who can be relied upon to accidentally ram his team-mates into concrete walls. A Philippe Alliot who can write off four tubs in one season. An Olivier Grouillard or Pierluigi Martini who can almost single-handedly introduce the concept of the ten-second drive-through penalty for persistent blocking whilst being lapped.
So, who will vacate Maldonado's lead-lined (well, the right one, anyway) driving shoes and fulfil this role in the brave new world of F1 2016? The champions and multiple race-winners amongst the field tend to be reputed for their successes rather than their failures, even when in declining form. Grosjean and Pérez, former enfants terribles, have cleaned up their acts to become respectable and experienced drivers, an asset to any team. Verstappen seems to have something of a cocksure attitude that could metamorphose into a bad-boy image, given the right (or wrong) moves, but so far his talent justifies his pronouncements.
So who will become the next Maldonado? The driver we love to hate? Because if there's one thing that I've learnt from my time following F1, it's that such a character will surely emerge to fulfil this role.